A/N: Once again, thank you all so much for the spectacular reviews! You guys are too kind! I've been updating quickly because all of your reviews are very encouraging! This was one of the chapters that I really enjoyed writing. It has a lot of intense moments. And also, I just wanted to point out that in this chapter Lily is older than Lucas. She is in college! I just thought I'd let you all know so you don't get confused! Please Review!

Warning: Toward the end of this chapter, it's kind of depressing. I don't want to give it away. I just wanted to warn everyone so just be ready.

xoxox

Gianna!

Chapter 3- Humiliation and Imitation

That night, around 2 a.m., I decided to go for a walk. Yeah, I know it's really late, but most of the time I'm not even asleep. I can't sleep at night, ever. I just wanted to get away from it all for a little while. I just want to forget everything and try to just be happy. There are so many thoughts rushing through my head and I can't keep up with any of it. My life is too confusing. I don't understand anything anymore.

I used to think I would get a hit by my father for a reason. Maybe because I didn't do the dishes or that I didn't make my bed or that I didn't pick up my toys. I know the truth now. My father feels the need to take his anger and stress out on me. He uses me like I'm a punching bag or a stress ball. It's not right for anyone to be treated the way I am, but it's my own fault. It's my fault because I don't want to do anything about it. I let him get away it because he's my father. My superior. My master.

School. School was also a nightmare for me. From the taunting to the whispering about the way I look, I was sick of it all. Then came Lucas. He was unoticed. He was kind. Lucas made me happy to be there.

Then I remembered the way I acted when he saw my bruises. He seemed like he just wanted to help me, but I pushed him away. I can't let him in no matter how bad things get or how nice Lucas may seem. Like I said before, he could disappear.

I once had a really great friend. She was my best friend when I was in third grade. We did everything together. You could pretty much say we were inseperable. She made me laugh when I was sad and we would tell eachother stories to cheer the other up. But then, her mom met me and forbade her to hang out with me. It was because of the way I looked and the way I dressed. She listened to her mother and when I saw her she would ignore me and pretend like I wasn't there. That's when everything went downhill. That's girls name was Brooke. Brooke Davis. Shocking right? Yeah, I thought so too. She doesn't approach me anymore and we still don't speak, but life goes on I suppose.

When I finished my walk, it was about 6 a.m. I had walked for four hours and my head still wasn't clear. Everything was a mess in my mind. The way I see it, my life was so broken that nothing could fix it. Not kindness. Not anything.

After I had finished getting ready for school, I walked down the stairs quietly, praying to God that my parents were passed out or too stoned to notice me. When I peeked me head down the stairs, there they both were. Passed out on the floor. Thank you God. I opened the front door and closed it softly behind me. I began to walk briskly to school.

When I arrived at school, it was 8:03. I still had 27 minutes before school began. At my locker stood Lucas. I walked slowly to my locker. He watched me closely as I approached him.

"Look, Peyton about yesterday-" Lucas began, but I stopped him.

"Lucas, it's fine. I just got into a fight with some girl and she ended up kicking my ass. I guess I was just a little pissed about it." That lie was a lot better than the I fell lie, but I could tell by his face that a part of him still wasn't buying it.

"Oh," he begins, "Who was the girl?" Lucas is digging deeper. I have to think of someone. Anyone.

"Um. I..You won't know her and what's done is done. I really don't want to talk about it," I say pretending to still be upset about this so called fight.

"Sorry," Lucas apologizes.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"So, about the party tonight. You never gave me an answer. Do you want to go?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, Lucas. It's just.."

"Oh come on Peyton. If you or me isn't having fun then we'll leave."

I hesistate.

"Please?" He pouts his bottom lip and I smile at how dumb he looks.

"Ok. Fine," I say giving in.

"Good," Lucas says satisfied with my answer.

The school day had passed and Lucas had offered to give me a ride home, like he always has for the pass couple of days.

When I got in Lucas' car, I thought about what would happen when I got home, and I don't think I could take another beating. That was the last thing I needed.

"Lucas? Umm, Do you mind if I, umm, go over to your house? I'm really not in the mood to go home because.." I stopped myself.

"Because?"

"I just wanted to hang out," I say quickly.

"Umm sure.Yeah."

When we arrived at Lucas' house, I looked around. It was nothing like my house. His house was the type that was in movies. The type where you knew the perfect family must live there. The house smelt of spices and flowers. In the hall way, there was pictures of Lucas and his family. His house was immaculate. I would have been surprised if I had seen even the slightest bit of dust. My thoughts on Lucas' home were interrupted when I heard a woman.

"Lucas? Is that you?" It was his mom.

"Yeah mom. It's me." Lucas walked into the kitchen with me following close behind him.

His mom looked right at me and smiled. It wasn't a fake smile. It was real. She was a beautiful woman which must explain why Lucas was so handsome.

"And who is this?" she asked Lucas.

"This is Peyton Sawyer. She's been showing me around school for the past few days. Peyton, this is my mom."

"Hi," I say reaching out my hand to shake it.

That was a stupid thing to do. My sleeve lifted again, like it had with Lucas, and her eyes looked straight at it. She shook my hand anyway ignoring the bruises. I was thankful that she had. She had a look of concern on her face, but I chose to ignore it.

"So, Lily's home from college. She should be arriving any minute." Right after she had said that a tall, brunette walked through the door. She looked exactly like her mom.

"Lily! Hey!" Lucas exclaimed running to her and giving her a hug.

"Hi!" She embraced him.

I watched as I saw how much they loved eachother and how well they got along. I wanted to have a family like that with all my heart. I would give anything for someone to care that much about me.

Lucas' sister Lily then turned to look at me and cleared her throat, saying that she wanted to be introduced.

"Oh! Lil, this is Peyton. Peyton this is my sister Lily," Lucas said.

"Hi," I said just waving my hand. I didn't dare reach to shake her hand.

"Hey," Lily said with a smile.

Lily and I began to talk as Lucas helped his mom out with a few chores. Lily was so kind and generous. I guess it ran in the Scott family. I was really happy that we began talking because I never had many girl friends. She talked mostly. I mainly listened.

"Your hair is gorgeous. Are these natural curls?" Lily asked reaching to touch my hair.

"Yep," I say.

"It's beautiful," She says. There was a short silence between us. I could tell that she was debating on what she was going to say next. "Would you be offended if I asked to do your make up for the party tonight? It's totally cool if you say no, but I just really love giving make overs."

Wow. This was unbelievable. I barely know her and she's already being so nice to me.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course," I say excitedly.

I never really liked when people wanted to do my makeup, but Lucas' sister seemed really excited about it.

"Ok. Sweet! Just go wash your makeup off and then meet me in my room," Lily said getting up and walking to her room.

Oh no. I didn't think of that. She was going to see my bruised face. Why did this always happen? I stood still for a little while before I walked over to the bathroom to wash my other makeup off.

When I finished, I looked at my reflection. I looked hidious with all the scars, new bruises, and wounds. How was I going to explain this to her?

I walked into her room and she had the same expression on her face that Lucas had when he first saw me like this.

"Woah. What happened?" She asked concerned. She got up from where she was standing and to stand right in front of me.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. I got in a fight like a week ago. It's nothing. Really." It was something. I just learned to lie right through my teeth.

"Must have been a pretty damn bad fight."

"Yeah, it was."

"Well, come sit and let me see what I can do to cover those up. Is there any specific colors you don't want as eyeshadow?"

"Pink, purple, red, light blue.."

She cut me off, "Yeah I got it, I got it. You don't like girly colors."

"Yeah."

"Its cool. I don't either. Alright close your eyes and let me work my magic."

It felt good to have someone like her being so friendly toward me.

Lily had finished quickly. "Alright, open your eyes!"

I obeyed and opened my eyes. She had a mirror in front of my face. I had smoky eyes with astonishing, long lashes, and the perfect amount of eye liner. My bruises. You couldn't even see them. I would have never even known they were there.

"Well?" She asked.

"It's wonderful. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, what can I say. I have a gift," she said laughing.

There was a knock at the door. "Lily? Are you and Peyton done talking because we have to go. The party starts in like 15 minutes."

"Yeah, one second. Please tell me you have something cute to wear tonight?"

"Umm, does this count as cute," I say pointing to my torn jeans and rock T-shirt.

"I thought so. Here let me see what I have."

"Just make sure it's long-sleeved," I say faster than I inteneded to.

"Ok," she says, "Aha! This is cute." She pulled out a black, long-sleeved, V-cut shirt with dark blue jeans. "Put these on and then come out," she says handing the outfit to me.

I'm glad she's left the room. I didn't want her to see my black and blue arms. I was so ashamed of them, but the funny part is that I had nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn't my fault. By far was it my fault.

I finshed putting on the clothes she had let me borrow and I walked out of her room.

"Fabulous!" Lily yelled, "Wouldn't you agree, Lucas?"

"Yeah," Lucas said looking at me as if he was in disbelief that it was really me, "Peyton you look amazing."

"Thanks," I say blushing.

"We have to get going. See you later mom. Bye Lily."

"Bye Mrs. Roe. Bye Lily. Thanks again!" I say as I follow Lucas out the door.

"Anytime!" Lily yells back at me.

When we arrive at the party, I start to have second thoughts.

"Lucas, I think this was a bad idea," I say nervously.

"What are you talking about? You look great. Just give it a chance and if you really aren't having any fun, I promise we'll leave."

"Ok," I reply reassured by his words.

We walk inside and just like school everybody's eyes are on us. I hear everyone whispering things like "Is that Peyton Sawyer?" or "What is she doing here?" and "What does Lucas see in her." I turn to Lucas who doesn't mind all the staring. Why the hell didn't it bother him that people thought he was stupid for hanging around with me?

I need to go somewhere. Anywhere away from these people.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, ok?" I tell Lucas.

"Yeah, I'll be here."

I walk to the bathroom and close the door behind me. I lean my head against the door and close my eyes. I knew this was stupid of me to come. Why couldn't I have just told him I couldn't go out? I was so foolish to think that this night might not be that bad. I needed to tell Lucas that I wanted to leave. I can't take the staring, the whispers, the giggles. I can't take any of it anymore.

I run out of the bathroom to go find Lucas. I stop when I see him talking to Brooke. I listen to the conversation.

"So, what's the deal with you hanging around with Peyton?" Brooke asks him.

"Why do you need a reason?" Lucas ask.

"Well, let's just say that if you want friends in this school, then Peyton Sawyer isn't exactly the girl you want to be friends with."

"Why not?"

"Have you seen her? She's gross and dresses like she's going to kill herself."

"So, you judge her by the way she dresses and by the way she looks?" Lucas asks confused.

"No. No just that. Peyton and I used to be friends a long time ago, but then she started turning all weird, so we kind of stopped."

"Brooke, that makes no sense."

"It does to me."

I don't want to hear anymore. I need to get out of here. I need to go somewhere. I push through the crowd of people and run for the door. Suddenly, out of no where, someone trips me. I fall flat on my face on the hard, cold concrete. Everyone starts laughing hysterically like it is the funniest thing they have ever seen. I'm so embarrassed that I don't even want to get up. I don't want to have to see their faces laughing back at me.

I stay on the concrete floor until I feel someone picking me up. I look to see who it is. Lucas. It's Lucas.

"Are you alright?" he asks me as he sets me down on a stool.

"Yeah," I say trying to hold back my tears as I still look around and see people laughing and imitating my fall.

Lucas looks around angrily, almost like he wants to kill every person in the room.

A guy behind me falls on purpose. "Hey, woah! I'm Peyton Sawyer and I'm a freak who is liked by no one," says the guy.

"Shut the hell up!" Lucas yells toward him.

The whole party stops when they hear the harshness in Lucas' voice. Even the music has been halted. Everyone is watching Lucas' anger rise as the guy who was imitating my fall doesn't stop. I watch as Lucas walks over to him and grabs him by his shirt. He slams him into the wall like he weighed less than a feather. I jump at the sight of it.

"I said Shut. The. Hell. Up." Lucas speaks quieter this time. He lets go of the kids shirt and comes back over to me. "Let's get out of here. This party sucks anyway." Lucas grabs my hand, leading me out the door.

Nobody had ever stuck up for me. Normally, people would just look at me and laugh. Sometimes they would even step over me completely ignoring the fact that I was laying on the ground. I was still a little taken aback by Lucas' actions toward that kid. I was pleased with the fact that Lucas had helped me. He truely was an angel from heaven.

"Thanks for doing that for me Lucas," I say as we enter his car.

"That's what I'm here for," Lucas says smirking at me. "You want me to take you home now?"

I don't want to go home, at least not yet. "Nah. Let's get some pizza or something. It's only 10:30."

"Alright, but I don't know where anything is," he says as he starts the car.

"Go down this street, make a left at your first turn, and then follow that road until we reach Connie's Pizza."

"Gotcha."

We drive in pure silence. I don't know what to say, especially since my mind is still on the events that happened at the party. I just can't get over the fact that Lucas barely knows me but is already changing my life in so many ways.

"Is this it?" He says pulling into the pizza parlor.

"Obviously," I say pointing to the sign that says Connie's Pizza.

He shakes his head and laughs.

We get inside, order our pizza, and sit in one of the booths.

"Lucas, this really means a lot to me."

"What does?"

"Having your friendship. Knowing a guy like you. Knowing that not everyone is the same."

A small smile tugs from his lips. "When I first saw you, there was something that had drawn me to you. Like a magnet or something. You seemed mysterious, ya know? Full of secrets."

He's right. I am full of secrets. Secrets that can't be shared. Secrets that are meant for me know and for him to probably never find out.

We finish eating our pizza, and Lucas drives me home.

"Thanks for going with me to the party tonight, Peyton. I'm really sorry that you didn't have a good time."

"It's ok Lucas. I'm glad you wanted me to go with you. Tell your sister thanks for doing my makeup and letting me wear her clothes."

"I will."

I step out of the car, but before closing the door I say, "Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything."

He simply nods his head before he pulls away from my house.

Lucas may not realize it, but he's done more for me in a few days than anyone ever has.

I start to walk up to my house hoping that my parents are sleeping or doped up. I open the front door cautiously. I look inside and see that my mother is knocked out, most likely from the drugs. Oh god. Where's my Dad?

I turn my head to find him staring at me.

"Where the hell were you?" He asks slurring his words.

"Out," is all I say.

"Out? With who? You don't have friends. Who the hell would want to hang out with you?" he says laughing.

"Actually, I do have a friend," I say defending myself.

Bad move.

"What did you just say?" he asks preteneding like he heard me incorrectly.

"I'm sor-" He cuts my apology off when he grabs me by the back of my hair and smashes my face against the wall. I cringe when I feel my nose tingle with pain.

"Don't. You. Ever. Talk. To. Me. Like. That. Ever. Again," my father says. With each word he speaks he crashes my face into the wall a little harder than the time before.

The pain is too much to take. "Stop!" I beg. "Please!" He stops, but the beating isn't over yet. He turns me around and instead of slapping me, he punches me straight in the jaw.

I close my eyes as tight as I can, praying that he will stop. He drags me into the kitchen and throws a rag and a soap bottle at me.

"Go clean the blood off of the wall!" he yells.

I obey him. I wet the wash cloth and pour soap onto it. I rub the spot where my face was once being banged against. I feel blood gushing out of my nose. The pain is unbearable. I try to ignore it. I try my hardest, but I can't. It hurts too bad.

I finish wiping the wall, and then I throw out the rag. I wait for my father to tell me what to do next, blood still pouring out of my nose.

"Get out of my face," he says as he take a sip of his beer.

When I reach my room, I look at myself in the mirror and see fresh cuts. I'm surprised he didn't kill me with those blows to the wall. I have to stop the bleeding in my nose so I pinch my nose shut and lean my head forward. After a while, the bleeding finally stops. I then tend to the wounds on my forehead. I get out gauze pads and place them on my head.

I didn't go to sleep that night because I was afraid that I wouldn't wake up. Going to sleep when you have trauma to your head isn't really that smart.

I lost that battle, but I'll be damned if I lose another one.

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